CBSE 2011- CBSE parents fighting against state, and time

CBSE 2011- CBSE parents fighting against state, and time

It seems to be open season for legal action in the CBSE-state controversy, as parents and students have started knocking on the court's door for help. With the state government refusing to allow admissions to CBSE students who gave school-evaluated exam, individuals and parents' groups are in the process of taking the legal battle to the last mile.

However, the petitioners are faced with the possibility that they may not see legal closure in the matter before colleges open, especially in Nagpur, where admissions process is already halfway through.

Currently there are three writ petitions before the Bombay High Court, two before the Nagpur bench. In the city, the case by Aggrieved Parents' Forum (APF) has already come up for hearing twice, while the second one filed on Wednesday by an individual parent is likely to be heard next week. At the Bombay High Court too the matter has been adjourned for a couple of weeks.

Aniket Ujjwal Nikam, legal counsel for a CBSE student in Mumbai, said, "The state cannot discriminate between school-evaluated and board-evaluated students because CBSE itself has clarified that both are at par. The CBSE can decide how to conduct its exam and by interfering with this the state is denying students the right to equality as mandated in Article 14. For now, due to some factual and legal aspects the matter has been adjourned for a couple of weeks here."

In Nagpur, the matter had come up for hearing on Thursday but was adjourned on CBSE's request. Legal counsel for APF Nitin Lalwani said, "The counsel for CBSE had made a statement that there have been certain subsequent developments in the matter, which he would like to place on record by filing an affidavit. In view of CBSE's statements the matter has been posted for July 19."

In the hearing, the court also asked the parents why they had asked their children to opt for the school- evaluation if they wanted to change the board. It also asked the parents why they did not want to continue with in CBSE schools.

The latest writ petition in the fray has been placed before the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court and is likely to come up for hearing next week. Petitioner Girish Elkunchwar, who is a lawyer, said, "My contention is against the circular sent by the state on June 15, which directs deputy education officers not to admit CBSE students. Tomorrow, the state may not accept CBSE std XII students in MHT-CET too, saying that since they did not give a valid exam in Std X, hence their board exam in Std XII is also ineligible. Let the government clarify on all issues now."

However, parents are now slowly realizing that their children may not benefit from the current litigation as the process of admissions has already started. A parent, part of the APF, said, "We wanted to approach the court in June itself, but the school managements kept telling us that things will get resolved as CBSE is in contact with the state. Now, even after the CBSE-State meeting, there was nothing positive for us and we decided to approach the court. In Nagpur, admissions have already started and it seems that our children are certainly not going to make it to the top colleges. But I hope at least for the future batch this issue will be put at rest once and for all."

Admissions for bifocal faculty are already midway in Nagpur, and those for general science and commerce will start from last week of July.